high alert after the discovery of a threatening note. >> the challenges facing the new pope.

a dangerous practice by drivers at the bay bridge toll plaza in an effort to save a few bucks channel 2 morning news. good morning. it's friday eve. thursday. march 14. >> i'm pam cook. it got warm yesterday. >> still 60s and 70s in the forecast. a few neighborhoods in the 80s for your wednesday afternoon, we'll save off a few degrees. fog is not as widespread, a few patches. partly sunny, a batch of high clouds moving in, temperatures ranging from 60 to 76 degrees. sal has an update on traffic. good morning. right now traffic is doing pretty well around the bay

area. we've off to a good start on highway 4, it's clear and the fog has not moved into this area, and right now we have clear looking cameras and hopefully it will stay this way. taking a look at san francisco, northbound 101 traffic is off to a good start. now let's go back to the desk. >> sal, thank you very much. parents of some high school students in pleasanton plan to keep kids home because of a threatening note discovered in girls bathroom that mentions today. tara moriarty joins us from the school. this is not the only threat at local schools this morning. >> reporter: that's right but this school is not in a lockdown, school remains open after the discovery of a threatening note, and we did notice extra police officers on campus this morning. they will be beefing up the patrols after that note was found in a girls bathroom tuesday. we have blurred out the profanity but it read, i hate everyone at this school, watch me shoot everyone, to march 14

i swear to god. some parents and students are obviously apprehensive about attending school today. >> it's a scary thing, it's not something you want to hear, but i also don't want to live in fear and don't want him to live in fear. >> reporter: in all. east bay police are on alert at four schools. in tracy there's extra security at kimball high, two students found threatening graffiti in a girls bathroom. officials evacuated tracy high yesterday afternoon after two threatening notes including one about a bomb were found in boys bathrooms. and fremont school district put thornton junior high on lockdown for a half hour yesterday afternoon because of a bomb threat. fremont police are still investigating that but they do not believe any of these incidents at the separate schools are connected. some students feel the threat here at foothill was probably some teenager wanting some attention, but school officials aric thatting the threat seriously, they want to know exactly who wrote that note and

really say that most of all they want to reach out to the student and give them the help they need. we're live in pleasantton, channel 2 news. today the new pope will hold a mass, pope francis was elected on the fifth round, the 76-year-old born eight days before christmas day in argentina. a spokesman called him a reformer hoping to clean up the money laundering scandal in the vatican bank. pope francis is the first jesuit pope, the order typically teaches and works on behalf of the poor but seldom rises in the church hierarchy. the crowd is not as big as st.peters's square. i'll take you back live, vatican city. pope francis postponed a visit planned for today to confirm with emeritus pope benedict but at 9:00 pacific time the new pope will lead mass in the sistine chapel with all the cardinals in attendance.

about 100,000 people were there to cheer when white smoke came yesterday. an hour later pope francis emerged on the balcony to greet his followers. >> let's always pray for each other. let's pray for the entire world. so that there can be great brotherhood. >> the pope chose his name from st. francis of assisi, the 13th century friar who helped the poor. he will be installed next tuesday. san francisco is named after st. francis. [bells] the bells rang at st. mary's cathedral to signify the election of a new pope. bay area catholics say they are excited about the choice. they like his humble

background, he rode the bus to, would, cooked his own meals and visited slums of argentina. >> he is in the true jesuit tradition a man of great intellect, living a simple lifestyle with great devotion. >> the san jose diocese will hold a thanksgiving mass sunday. he faces tasks including improving image. coming up, the work ahead for the new pope francis. in overnight news a 4-point earthquake shook sonoma county just after 2 a.m.

northeast of healdsberg. it does not appear a lot of people felt it. the sheriff's office only took two calls and there are no reports of damage. deputies arrested a man who tried to escape by swimming the oakland estuary last night. deputies spotted a stolen car in the parking lot of the oakland aquatic center. deputies say the driver took off, leading them on a chase down embarquadero before hitting a u.p.s. truck, jumped out of the car, swam the oakland estuary and hid on a boat before he was arrested. >> there's a backup on the toll plaza every morning, most cars head straight through toll lanes, we're looking at it live, in the minutes before 10:00 some drivers are pulling off to the side of the road. they are hoping to save a couple dollars by waiting for the price to drop from $6 to $4 at 10:00 but they are breaking the law and risk

getting a $200 ticket. >> i didn't know anything about that. >> two bucks a day is a lot of money but don't pull over. time now 435. >> good morning, brian and pam. we're doing well. traffic is doing nicely on 80 westbound as you drive let's say to the macarthur maze, traffic is doing nicely. the morning commute looks good. some lanes are closed, they are doing a little bit of road work but there's so many it's not causing a delay. in san jose northbound 280 traffic is off to a good start. let's go to mark. >> good morning. the fog is not as widespread as yesterday, dense patches near the coast, in the middle of the day dense fog advisories for boaters until 2:00 this afternoon. still some fog a factor across parts of the bay area, but not as widespread. lots of clear reports out there

toward concord, livermore and san jose. downtown san francisco 48 degrees. your forecast as we break it down, areas of fog this morning, 45 to 50, partly cloudy this afternoon, 58 to 63. temperatures today a little bit cooler compared to yesterday, and then you'll notice a batch of high clouds paid us a visit, knocking on our door right now, high clouds remain in the forecast this afternoon. temperatures inland still on the warm side, 74 to 77 degrees. forecast highs this afternoon ranging from lower 60s coastside, warmest locationings mid to upper 70's, these are all minor changes, and a look ahead, the five-day forecast, with your weekend in view slightly cooler but no rain clouds on this five-day just yet but that could be changing next week. we'll have more coming up in a bit. 4:37. pope francis is a man of many firsts, the first pope to pick the name francis, the first pontiff from the americas, and he's the first jesuit pope.

craig boswell is live in rome with the many responsibilities that lie ahead for pope francis this morning. craig? >> reporter: brian, good morning to you. that's a lot of firsts, that could be an indication people here are saying of a change, really in tone and change in path for the roman catholic church. these are some headlines from the local italian papers, the surprise of francisco, the former archbishop taking on the name pope francis, and immediately coming out and breaking with tradition right off the bat, instead of blessing the crowd, asking them to pray for him. >> i ask you to pray to the lord to bless me. >> one of the wonderful things

about the cardinal choosing the name francis, he's pointing us toward this renewal. >> reporter: renewing the image of the church is a major task, the electing cardinals consider him a seasoned and popular pastor who would draw followers to the faith. >> where he comes from is gravy. we've got a lot of good gravy with a man coming now from latin america. you talk about a booster shot to the church in the americas. this is going to be a real blessing. >> reporter: restoring the church's will be no easy task following a litany of sex abuse scandals. >> he has a reputation of dealing with the issue and may sweep house and do something concrete. >> reporter: the new bishop of rome, the new pontiff, up and at 'em this morning, he has gone through rome's main basilica after 8:00 local time,

that was rome time, this morning. he planned to visit with pope benedict xvi, they spoke last night, and this evening around 5:00 rome time a mass inside the sistine chapel with the cardinals, former installation on tuesday. >> thank you very much for that report. vice-president joe biden will lead the u.s. delegation to rome for the installation ceremony of pope francis next week, the first roman catholic vice-president. biden said he is happy to have the chance to personally relay well wishes to the new pope. pope francis's installation mass is scheduled for next tuesday. 4:40. looking for the clock. four people killed in what police call an unprovoked attack, the intense stand-off

underway right now in upstate new york. google is getting rid of some of its apps, one in particular some users are especially upset about. good morning. if you're driving on 237, westbound, you can see traffic is moving well. we'll tell you more about the morning commute.

good thursday morning. 443. patchy dense fog. police in new york are in a stand-off with a man suspected of shooting six people, killing four of them. officers have surrounded an abandoned building where they believe 64-year-old kurt myers is holed up. the manhunt started yesterday morning after police say he set his apartment on fire. they say myers drove to a barbershop and shot four people, killing two of them. he went to an oil change

business and killed two more men. >> everybody in the area's toldly scared of what's happening, everybody is petrified. >> police think the shootings were unprovoked. they did exchange gunfire with myers before the stand-off began. police say they are being careful about entering the building because they don't want to put officers in harm's way. 4:44. a preliminary hearing begins this morning in san francisco's bound and gag murder case. the six defendants are challenged with killing a man in december, the victim was bound and gagged along with a woman who was seriously injured. prosecutors have not revealed a possible motive but they stress the defendant and victims knew each other and this was not a random crime. >> senator dianne feinstein's assault weapons ban will likely get through the democrat-led senate judiciary committee on a party line vote, but the legislation will have a tough

time when it comes before the full senate next month. feinstein said she will need all the help she can get because she will be facing what she calls an 800-pound gorilla, the national rifle association. also this morning, in san francisco, a group of silicon valley investors is announcing a new effort to curb gun violence through technology such as biometric firearm locks. more than 20 venture capitalists and others have formed a technology committee to reduce gun violence. they will be joined today by parents of victims of the newtown school shooting for a town hall event at the bill graham civic auditorium. a policy to ease overcrowding in prison, the number of sex offenders who violated parole in california increased 15% since a policy 17 months ago, the number rose from 72 to 84.

the realign am policy calls for violators to be county jails instead of prison. many serve little time due to overcrowding. surfers will protest to gain access to martin's beach, it was sold several years ago and since then a gate has been put up blocking public access to the beach. today's protest comes days after a lawsuit was filed against the new owners. students and staff at san francisco's city college are planning to walk off campus before marching to city hall, protesting cuts being made by the school to balance its budget as it fights to keep its accreditation. tomorrow is the deadline for city college to submit proof of its finances to an accreditation committee. city college could be forced to close if it loses that status, a decision is expected in june. san francisco's symphony is quiet after musicians walked off the job in a contract dispute. yesterday some musicians performed at city hall wearing

l.a. dodgers caps. they wanted to emphasize the southern california counterparts are paid more. they say this is not the kind of attention they really want. >> the attention that we prefer is taking our instruments onto the stage and performing as professional musicians. >> a sad day at the symphony because this is what we do. our musicians are the center of why we are here. >> the strike cancelled today's matinee performance and could threaten a tour including carnegie hall. it last went on strike in 1997. google is cutting back on several apps, one is bringing protest. the company is part of an effort to focus on smaller selection of services. it will stop offering google reader which allows users to pull content feeds from  different sources to one hub. it never gained great support from the public but people who have to handle a lot of information say it's useful.

they will have until july 1 to transition toker on options. in the south bay, a project is being delayed because of drivers that cash into work that's already done. more than $8 million is being spent on new fencing, light poles and sidewalk on capitol expressway. there have been several crashes including the latest that took out one of the new light poles. each repair job costs thousands of dollars. drivers who cause the damage and insurance end up paying for the repairs. 4:48. let's go back over to sal and check in on traffic. hopefully no problems this early morning. >> we're starting off well, pam and brian. good morning to you. we're looking at some of the same kind of cameras that we saw yesterday, but much more visibility. yesterday we could see maybe a little bit of this picture. and the traffic is moving along nicely anyway. there's still fog at the top. usually you can see all the way to golden gate field's racetrack but this morning you can't quite. this is a look at westbound bay

bridge traffic here at the toll plaza looks good. they are picking up some of the road work. it never did cause a big day because traffic is so light. this morning in san jose on northbound 280 and northbound 101 off to a good start. 4:49. let's go to mark. good morning. yeah, the fog not as widespread or dense this morning. we basically have a weather system moving into northern california, lifting the marine layer, as a result of fog being lifted. you'll notice high clouds. we still have this dense fog advisory for the boaters in the bay until 2:00 this afternoon, so that will be a factor over the next few hours. for the rest of us patchy fog moving around the region and near the coastline. current temperatures stepping outside the door this early thursday, santa rosa 47. concord 52. livermore 49, and san jose 53 degrees, reporting partly cloudy skies. today a little bit cooler as this area of high pressure was responsible for the warmup

yesterday, 70's and 80s, as we scoot to the east, high clouds move in. temperatures this afternoon, the warmest locations still warm in the mid to upper 70s, and then we'll call it partly sunny into the afternoon hours. for today, for your thursday, at 8:00 some patchy fog for the coast and bay, mid-40s to mid- 50s. partly sunny by 12:00. high clouds will continue to move into the region from the north and west, and by 3:00 mild to warm, there's the temperature range, 60s and 70s. looking good this afternoon, maybe filtered sunshine, it could feel muggy, san francisco 77, livermore 75, and mountain view 72 degrees. here is a look ahead, your five- day forecast with your weekend always in view. temperatures cooling off a bit by the weekend, also into next week. possibly by late tuesday into wednesday, maybe some rain returning to the bay area. we'll keep an eye on that. >> mark, thank you very much. 4:51. she disappeared one week ago, the discovery that is causing police to call off the

search for a missing oakland woman. and last call could be pushed back to 4:00 a.m., the trouble that could cause.

erica disappeared last thursday following a morning walk. surveillance video shows her along telegraph avenue the day she went missing. authorities are now investigating her death as a possible suicide, they say a cell phone signal places her in the area of the golden gate bridge at the time a person jumped from the span. an effort is underway to allow some bars and nightclubs to serve alcohol until 4:00 in the morning. san francisco's state senator mark leno opposed it saying it could boost to you -- tourism

and boost jobs but could mean headaches. >> people will be drinking too much and driving, it would be too late, the noise and i just don't think it's good for the community. >> several big cities including chicago and new york city have already last calls past 2 a.m. if approved, the law could go into effect on january 1. >> math fans are celebrating pi day, the 3/14, matching up with the first three digits of pi. i forgot. i'm going to run on my way home from work because they are eating pie in our school too. >> and math geeks all over the

world are happy. >> not geeks. math aficionados. >> right, right. the most loving way possible. >> okay. >> i consider myself one. let's take a look at the commute, northbound 101 approaching the 80 split, traffic is moving very nicely. there are no major problems here. it's a nice drive. much better visibility, san mateo bridge, i don't know if that's fog or mist, but it's better than it was yesterday. all the way out to heyward, foster city, both sides. if you're driving on the peninsula, 101 and 280 are off to a decent start, the bayshore freeway looks good from mountain view up to san francisco. 4:55. let's go to mark. >> we use the value of pi in meteorology equations, we're familiar with 3.14 that goes on forever. the forecast we have been working on, patchy morning fog, mild to warm out there, tomorrow partly sunny. the weekend a dry forecast, just a little bit cooler.

the key change for today, the fog is not as widespread because we have this guy, a weather system moving from the pacific and helping raise the marine layer, so the fog is not as widespread or dense as yesterday but we have this. dense fog advisory for the boaters in the bay until 2:00 this afternoon, likely be lifted before then but still somewhat of a factor in the short they were over -- short term over the next few hours. 40s and 50s, santa rosa 47, walnut creek at 51, partly cloudy skies. this morning starting out in the 40s and 50s, into the afternoon hours, a nice recovery here. 60s at green contour, approaching the mid to upper 70s in the warmest locations. today cooler than yesterday, no 80s expected, but still some upper 70s, warm for this time of year. antioch 77. downtown san francisco 67. san jose a forecast high of 74, mountain view in the lower 70s, eg